to get breakfast, but I
wish my assistant didn't waste so much of her time."

"If you'd let me keep the cook I hired we'd have crawfish for
breakfast," said Captain Hull.

"Where would we get them?" inquired Ned.

"Every one of these coral keys is built on crawfish and Snake Creek
here is full of 'em."

"Then after you've shown us a lot of crawfish and we've caught them
we'll have breakfast."

Captain Hull lashed two tarpon hooks to broomsticks, and getting in
the skiff with Molly and the two boys, poled to the nearest key.
Beneath the water the steep coral banks of the key were filled with
deep holes from out of many of which long feelers projected. Pushing
a hook into one of these holes the captain gave it a quick turn and
brought out a squirming, squeaking imitation of a young lobster.
Then he handed the hooks to the boys. Ned got overboard and began to
haul out crawfish at the rate of two a minute. Dick was less
successful, for Molly had promptly commandeered his hook and left
him nothing to do but watch her when she tried to hook the
shell-fish. They didn't get many fish and when Ned came along with a
bunch of crawfish which he dropped in the skiff, he said:

"Here, you kids, you aren't earning your salt. Just take my hook,
Dick, and catch some crawfish. I'll help Molly do whatever she's
doing."

On the way to the _Irene_ Molly called out:

"Oh, the beautiful, beautiful, bubble!"

"Don't touch it," shouted Dick.

But he was too late, for Molly had picked up a Portuguese man-o'-war
and sat wringing her hands with the pain of its poison. For, while
nothing in nature is more exquisite, few things are more virulent
than this animated, opalescent, iridescent bubble with its long,
delicate, purplish tentacles.

Molly's hand pained her all that day and the next, while Dick's
commiseration was boundless, but was kept in restraint by Ned, who
frequently assured both of them that, although a surgical case, it
was probably not quite hopeless. A run of two hours in directions
that varied, but averaged northwest, brought the _Irene_ to Madeira
Hammock, where the anchor was dropped.

CHAPTER XXVI

MADEIRA HAMMOCK AND--THE END

[Illustration: "THEY SAW A CROCODILE SWIMMING UNDER WATER NEAR
THEM"]

Mr. Barstow wanted to explore Deer Key which was nearby and Ned took
him there in the power boat. The captain took Molly and Dick out in
the skiff to show them a crocodile and Dick stood in the bow with
the